This request is for clearance of the Annual Arts Benchmarking Survey (AABS) to be conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau as a supplement to the Bureau of Labor Statistic's Current Population Survey. The AABS would be conducted for the first time in February 2013, and annually thereafter in years that the National Endowment for the Arts' (NEA) Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) is not conducted. One of the strengths of the AABS survey is that it will both complement and supplement the information collected in the SPPA. The SPPA is the field's premiere repeated cross-sectional survey of individual attendance and involvement in arts and cultural activity, and conducted approximately every five years. The AABS questionnaire will be much shorter than the SPPA, consisting of ten to twelve questions that will be used to track arts participation over time. As with the SPPA, the AABS data will be circulated to interested researchers and will be the basis for a range of NEA reports and independent research publications. The AABS will provide annual primary knowledge on the extent and nature of participation in the arts in the United States.
US Code:
20 USC 954
Name of Law: National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act
There is no net change in burden. The 300 respondents that will be involved in the pilot study are now associated with the Pilot Study Instruments, and the full-scale instruments are now associated with 18,000 respondents. (The total number of respondents remains 18,000+300=18,300.)
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.